Experimental characterization of Portland cement-calcined soldier-ant mound clay cement mortar and concrete

Experimental studies on soldier-ant mound clay as cement replacement material is an on-going research in the Civil Engineering Programme, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria. In this study, soldier-ant mound clay was calcined to 800 °C to produce calcined soldier-ant mound clay (CSAMC) and used in the proportions of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% by mass of cement to study its effect on cement mortar and concrete properties. The study showed that CSAMC is pozzolanic, can reduce the heat of hydration by about 17% percent when cement was replaced with 40% CSAMC and accelerated the setting time of concrete. The mortar compressive strength of mix containing 10% CSAMC superceded the reference mix when cured above 60 days and the ratio of the splitting tensile strength to the flexural strength is approximately 0.33.